Pular is a massive stratovolcano located in the Antofagasta Region of northern Chile, about 15 km west of the border with Argentina, which in this area is a straight line between the summits of Socompa volcano and Cerro del Rincón. Pular, along with Cerro Pajonales, forms a high volcanic ridge, which runs in a generally north-east to south-west direction for 12 km (7 mi). Southward, following the same direction as the ridge, lies Socompa volcano. The ridge's crest forms a drainage divide between Salar de Atacama basin and Salar de Pular basin. This latter is a bowl-shaped basin enclosed on the east by Aracar volcano.

Socompa is a large stratovolcano at the border of Argentina and Chile with an elevation of 6,051 metres (19,852 ft) metres. Part of the Chilean and Argentine Andean Volcanic Belt (AVB), it is within the Central Volcanic Zone, one of the various segments of the AVB. This part of the Andean volcanic belt begins in Peru and runs first through Bolivia and Chile, and then through Argentina and Chile, and contains about 44 active volcanoes. Socompa lies close to the pass of the same name, where the Salta-Antofagasta railway crosses the border.